Do we really have problems or is it all about our perceptions in life?

[KatWoman]

This is not intended to offend anyone who has issues or is on medication for them, I am just wondering what's happening with us as a society today....

Over the last few years I've noticed that it seems that more n more people are seeing psychologists/therapists and are being prescribed various anti-depressants and what not. More n more children are being diagnosed with ADD/ADHD and are also being put on meds.

Do you think we as a society have lost touch with ourselves, are we really that depressed of a society, or do you feel that in today's modern world we look to pills and opinons of PhD's rather than taking time out to try to be self sufficient and resolve our own problems?

[boingo82]

Hmmm....you could look at it a couple ways.

1. That the stigma of having mental problems now and then has been removed, so we're finally comfortable getting the help we need.

2. That we are looking for a "quick fix" to everything, hence the pills. We want a drug to fix it. Damn the side-effects. We would rather take a drug to treat the problem, than deal with the cause.

3. That we are imagining/blowing our problems out of proportion...hmmm. How to explain this? There was an Onion article titled "Everyone in family claims to be 'Black Sheep'." I guess it is kind of vogue to be a little insane. We all enjoy throwing pity parties for ourselves, right? I think most cases of ADHD are BS, and some people are just higher-activity than others. I had a boyfriend who "had" Tourette's and ADD, which meant basically that he had an "out" for acting like an asshole. He was 100% CAPABLE of behaving, but liked the excuses of mental problems. The scary part was that the Ritalin was causing heart problems as a sideeffect so he took a heart med to counteract the sideeffect of the Ritalin...and another med to counteract the sideeffect of the heart med. And his parents were DOCTORS.


I think it's a combo of the above. And, like you said, maybe there is something about society now that causes people to feel unfulfilled...there is a book by Ray Bradbury about this...where in the future EVERYTHING is done by machines and the humans feel so WORTHLESS because they are needed for nothing. Life is nothing without challenges to overcome.

[Jas_M]

Pills are a nice escape for people, especially when they triple the dosage.
Most people would rather take the easy way out when a problem arises, instead of just dealing with it head-on and moving forward.
I do think that society as a whole is fucked up though, and that we're all at the top of a very steep slope, barely keeping our balance.

[pickle]

I think to an extent it's in peoples heads, but that's ok. The more people with issues or fake issues, the more money I'll make off them.

[2Slow4U_Noob]

I think alot of it is based on the fact that its good business to have sick people. You can charge for pills, therapy, and whatever else you want. Just keep telling people they are sick and they will keep coming back. i have a friend whose gf has been taking depression pills since she was in middle school..who the hell is depressed in middle school?

[Hyatus]

its all about corporations and capitalism.$ is a very powerfull thing, and if you can make people think there sick and make money off it. The leeches will come out and do it whether or not its good morally or not, trust me they dont care. Look at McDonalds and the ciggerette companies.

[2Slow4U_Noob]

Originally Posted by Hyatus

its all about corporations and capitalism.$ is a very powerfull thing, and if you can make people think there sick and make money off it. The leeches will come out and do it whether or not its good morally or not, trust me they dont care. Look at McDonalds and the ciggerette companies.

True i say the corporations are partly to blame, but I place most of the blame on ourselves. No one is forcing us to eat unhealthy food or smoke or take the pills. Some people are just weak, and these are the people the corporations prey on.

[boingo82]

Originally Posted by 2Slow4U_Noob

.. Just keep telling people they are sick and they will keep coming back. i have a friend whose gf has been taking depression pills since she was in middle school..who the hell is depressed in middle school?

Aha! Yes that is what I mean..

The commercials that say "are you depressed sometimes?"
"Do you feel shy when in public?"
"Do you sometimes feel like life is full of insurmountable challenges?"

And now that everyone in the WHOLE COUNTRY is nodding and thinking "Yeah, that's ME!"...

"Ask your doctor about new Alebetral. It solves ALL life's problems."

[96Civ]

While I agree with most of what is said above, I do have to talk about the people who are actually depressed here. Some people, like myself, have had depression in their lives and have been trying to figure out an explaination about why they feel the way they do.

I cannot just flip a switch in my head and think "Oh, I will get a good nights sleep tonight." It does not work out that way at all. "I am going to play my fav. game and I will enjoy it like the good ol times..." how am I going to try to fool myself?

Some problems you cannot face because they came and went as time goes by and you can't change what has happened in your life the way you would like it to be.

Nowadays, there is nothing to run from.. so why am I losing sleep, unhappy and less productive in my hobbies?

I'm tired of trying to figure it out.

[2strokebloke]

It's easy to blame your own shortcomings on some "disease" that is cured by pills, than to have to deal with who you are sometimes.
It's healthy to be depressed, if you're never sad you've obviously got a serious defect in your personality. If you're depressed for over a month, either a string of problems has been keeping you down - or you're just incapable of getting over problems and dealing with yourself. I believe that the belief that long term depression is a problem, is what makes it a problem.
People are in their mind, who they believe themselves to be. If you think you're a hyperactive asshole, you're a hyperactive asshole, if you think you've got ADD - then you have ADD!
If people also tell you that you have ADD, and you believe it, then even more so you have ADD. If you take a stand for your beliefs, you could say "No, I do not have ADD, I'm just a hyperactive asshole, thank you."
Sometimes if you take this latter line of reasoning, people will tell you that you're in denial. The funny thing is that you'll only be in denial if you admit you are - thus you won't be denying anything.

[MagicRat]

There certainly is a fuzzy line between behaviour that is 'normal' and that which must be treated. One common test is to examine if the problem prohibits one from leading a normal life, or normal activities.
Unfortunately, this is just as fuzzy. There are some cases which obviously fall within this guideline, such as the agoraphobic who has not left her house in 10 years. However, lots of people just feel a little uncertain and are diagnosed as agoraphobic. The best solution is for an enlightened, educated second opinion from a professional in that medical field.
However, even their job is biased, due to the realities of billing and revenue; and even from you and me, the consumers. We all want results from our doctors. We break an arm, we want a cast. We feel down, we want medication, we want a tangible result, and not just being told we are normal.
So, we only have to look in a mirror to find the cause. It's you and me, the medical consumers.

[speeddemon320i]

I blame society for everything. There is just way to many pressures and influences.

[carnut]

My ex-wife had a severe case of depression caused by her childhood experiences. Although we divorced, I still tried to help her off and on. She was never able to accept the fact that her parents were the cause of her depression. I think you really have to accept who you are and enjoy life to the best of your abilities. I am a firm believer in not putting up a facade to impress anyone.

[landyacht]

I think the biggest problem is that people are conforming to society whether they know it or not. The goths that were once rebels are a social clicke, everyone now is a part of the social acceptance.

The common ground between each clicke of society is that pills are available for everything now. There's a pill to fix everything. These pills are meant to improve quality of life, and make everyone the same kind of happy. Sounds good? Sure. but i don't think it is. I am a strong believer that there shouldn't be assimilation (spelling?) in the ranks, we're all different and that's the way it should be.

Can you imagine a world full of people exactly like you? I can't fathom it. The world would be alot cleaner if everyone was like me but that's not the point.

Basically i feel that the pills are a short cut and promote laziness instead of hard work, and that society is conforming to nothing more than a drug-induced frenzy of selflessness.

Then there's me. Tylenol is the extent of my 'pills'. I don't believe in drugs.

My

[hotgrlzracin]

"Basically i feel that the pills are a short cut and promote laziness instead of hard work, and that society is conforming to nothing more than a drug-induced frenzy of selflessness."

taking Meds only mask the problem they don't fix it.

everyone has made some really good points. good reading.

my thoughts.....
i come from a very messed up childhood and although i know it was bad, i know it wasn't that bad and i know others have it worse. so until ppl can learn to stop playing the victim, they'll never learn to accept themselves for who they are.
my therapist said from day one i never played the victim role and she was suprised b/c most ppl who have been through what i've been through play the victim role.

i've been seeing a thearpist for over a year now. i started going to therapy to save a relationship. going through thearapy i've learned a lot about myself and why i do a lot of the things i do. i'm greatfull to have this opportunity to sort out my problems/issues to become a better person so that i can have healthy relationships. that's one thing i didn't learn as a child.

I'm not a pill taker and I refuse to medicate the problems and my therapist agreed. lol

so don't worry ppl, i'm not a head case! lmao
bwahahahhahahah bwahahhahaha